Improving Our Climate: 3M™ Smog-reducing Granules

Roofing granules offer a variety of solutions to environmental issues found in urban areas. (NAPS)

Roofing Solutions To Environmental
Concerns

(NAPSI)—More and more Americans are calling the nation’s
cities home. According to 2010 Census data, an estimated 80.7 percent of Americans
now live in urban areas—up from 79 percent in 2000. Not only does this
urban population increasingly tax the country’s infrastructure, but it
is also having an effect—both directly and indirectly—on the
environment.

The Heat Is On

The urban heat island (UHI) effect is a phenomenon in which metropolitan
areas are typically warmer than nearby rural areas mainly due to the large
areas of paved surfaces and buildings that capture the sun’s energy,
hold it and slowly radiate the heat back out into the air. The concentration
of heat in these densely populated regions creates additional health risks
for residents due to heat exposure and the enhanced formation of air
pollutants, especially ozone.

Rooftops, roads and parking lots comprise a large percentage of the
man-made surface area in urban areas. When analyzing effective UHI mitigation
strategies, scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
determined that widespread deployment of “cool roofs” and
“cool pavements” would decrease urban temperatures, which in turn
could offset some or all of the projected future warming trends.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a cool roof is one that has
been designed to reflect more sunlight and absorb less heat than a standard
roof. Beyond the building itself, cool roofs can also benefit the environment
by:

• Reducing local air temperatures;

• Lowering peak electricity demand, which can help prevent power
outages; and

In order to help protect the environment and meet increasingly stringent
ordinances calling for cool roof technology, 3M developed Cool Roofing
Granules. These granules are used in shingles that can be energy efficient, solar
reflective and economically friendly. This technology can reduce urban
heating as well as lower energy consumption in climates with year-round
cooling needs. In addition, many of the shingles that contain 3M Cool
Granules meet Energy Star requirements, making them the premier choice for
green building.

Further, the granules are available in a wide variety of rich colors that
can create the perfect shingle color blend.

The Eradication of Smog

Another problem in urban areas is smog pollution, caused by a buildup of
nitrogen oxides in the air. An estimated four in 10 Americans currently live
in counties with unhealthy levels of particle pollution.

To combat this growing concern, 3M recently launched Smog-reducing
Granules, which help remove smog pollution using roofing shingles. Integrated
throughout a shingle’s surface, the granules are designed with a
specialized photocatalytic coating applied to the base mineral. As sunlight
hits the shingles, radicals are generated, transforming nitrogen oxide gases
into water-soluble ions, thereby improving air quality.

“3M is leading the way with roofing technology solutions for
improving environmental impacts on human health and welfare,” said
Frank Klink, Ph.D., senior laboratory manager, 3M. “The roofing
granules are a first for residential asphalt shingles. The new 3M granules
will help roofing manufacturers develop high-quality, aesthetically pleasing
shingles that can turn any roof into an active smog-reducing catalyst,
essentially becoming smog’s worst enemy.”